Air Pollution Impacts

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Natural and scenic resources in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NP) are susceptible to the harmful effects of air pollution. Indicators of air pollution impacts are specific natural resources, including water chemistry, aquatic biota, and vegetation, and scenic resources, such as visibility. These resources may be affected by air pollutants like ozone, sulfur, nitrogen, and fine particles. Click on the tabs below to learn more about air pollutants and their impacts on natural and scenic resources at Great Smoky Mountains NP.

Nitrogen & Sulfur

Ozone

Visibility

Acid Deposition and Critical Load Development

Great Smoky Mountains NP receives the highest level of acid deposition of any monitored national park. Although the Acid Rain Program has significantly reduced acid deposition throughout the East, problems remain.

A study of the park’s forest ecosystems found that the combined effects of nitrogen and sulfur deposition exceeds a threshold defined as the “critical load”; (Pardo and Duarte 2007 [pdf, 1.54 MB]). The critical load represents a threshold below which significant harmful effects to sensitive ecosystems components are not likely to occur. Critical loads were determined both for acidification and for the effects of excess fertilization from nitrogen deposition. Consequences include losses in biodiversity, the release of toxic aluminum, upset balances and nutrient cycling.

The State of Tennessee recently listed 10 park streams as impaired under the Clean Water Act because of acidification. The park is working with the State to determine how much acid deposition would need to be further reduced in order to restore and protect these streams. more »

High ridge top ecosystems at Great Smoky Mountains NP are particularly vulnerable to acid deposition that results from high concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur compounds. These systems receive more deposition from rain, fog, and clouds than lower elevation areas. Additionally, low buffering capacity, short growing seasons and shallow soils make higher elevation areas more sensitive to acid inputs.

Effects of sulfur and nitrogen deposition at Great Smoky Mountains NP include:

Acid rain with an average acidity (pH) as low as 4.5, is 5–10 times more acidic than normal rainfall (NADP 2000);

Some high elevation park streams that drain undisturbed watersheds are the highest nitrate levels of any systems in the U.S. Nitrate levels in these streams approach the public health standard for drinking water (Stoddard 1994).

Naturally-occurring ozone in the upper atmosphere forms a layer that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and protects all life on earth. However, in the lower atmosphere, ozone is an air pollutant, that forms when nitrogen oxides (from vehicles, power plants, and other sources) combine with volatile organic compounds (from gasoline, solvents, and vegetation) in the presence of sunlight. High ground-level ozone can contribute to respiratory problems in some people. Elevated ozone exposures can also harm plants, evident through visible injury to leaves or reduced growth and reproduction.

Ozone and Public Health Concerns

Ozone concentrations at Great Smoky Mountains NP are among the highest in the East and sometimes exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health. On average, ozone levels in high elevation areas of the park can be up to twice as high as in nearby cities, including Knoxville and Atlanta. Park managers have instituted an ozone advisory program to educate employees and park visitors about the risks of exposure to unhealthy ozone levels and precautions that can be taken.

Ozone is a respiratory irritant for humans. Research shows that ozone can cause coughing, sinus inflammation, chest pains, scratchy throat, even permanent lung damage, and reduced immune system functions. Children, the elderly, people with existing health problems, and active adults are most vulnerable.

Park managers are optimistic that ozone air quality will improve at Great Smoky Mountains NP because of recent air quality regulations and other related actions.

Fine particles at Great Smoky Mountains NP and Public Health Concerns

Concentrations of fine particles in the park’s air sometimes exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health. Fine particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) originate from either direct emissions from a source, such as construction sites, power plants and fires, or are formed downwind from sources by reactions with gases and aerosols that react in the atmosphere. For example, power plants, industries and automobiles emit gases such as sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, which form particles of sulfate and nitrate in the atmosphere.

Because of their small size, fine particles can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to irritation of the airways, coughing, difficulty breathing, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart attacks, and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

Many visitors come to parks to enjoy spectacular vistas. Unfortunately, these vistas are often obscured by haze caused by fine particles in the air. Many of the same pollutants that ultimately fall out as nitrogen and sulfur deposition contribute to haze and reduced visibility. Organic compounds, soot, and dust reduce visibility as well. Pollution-caused haze typically appears as a uniform whitish haze, different from the natural blue mist-like clouds for which the Smokies were named.

Visibility effects at Great Smoky Mountains NP include:

Reduction of the average natural visual range from about 100 miles (without the effects of pollution) to about 25 miles because of pollution at the park;

Reduction of the visual range in the summer from about 80 miles to below 15 miles on high pollution days;